Mr. Mendy Klein Recalled as a 'Giant' in Philanthropy World

Levaya in Eretz Yisrael will take place tomorrow morning leaving from Kever Rochel and than at Kamenitz yeshiva on Rechov Yechezkel Yerushalayim to Har Hamenuchos.

Cleveland Jewish News:
The world lost a philanthropic "giant" on May 3 when Robert "Mendy' Klein of Beachwood died.
The 65-year-old Klein, the son of Holocaust survivors, started with nothing and built a business empire in Cleveland. He was known for his generosity, kindness, compassion – and most of all his tzedakah.



He was a "remarkable man," Rabbi Simcha Dessler, the educational director of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland in Cleveland Heights, told a standing-room-only crowd of 3,000 people – one of the largest Jewish funerals in Cleveland – who packed into the academy's Beatrice Stone Yavne High School in Beachwood for the funeral on May 4.

Mourners came from Chicago, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere. The gymnasium could not fit everyone, so the service was live streamed to another part of the building, while another 500, including some in Israel, watched the live stream. Another 500 listened to the service via an audio feed.

“Today, we have gathered to pay tribute to the life and legacy of an icon in our community and a legend in Klal Yisrael, but more than anything else, a remarkable ambassador of Judaism who cared enough to make a difference in our lives and in communities across the globe. This is the life story of an extraordinary communal leader whose passion was unique, whose generosity was incredible, and whose heart was large enough for everyone to enter. From Kever Rochel (Rachel’s Tomb) to the soldiers, from yeshivot, schools and kollels to the Federation, and from addiction recovery to abuse prevention, no neshama (soul) was excluded, no Jew was left behind.

"Our eternal appreciation for not only what you've done, for what you've accomplished, not only for who you were, but for the example that you taught all of us," Dessler said.

For just more than two hours, rabbis, friends and family paid homage to the man who single-handedly changed the lives and fortunes of countless organizations, institutions and individuals.

The gymnasium was turned into a makeshift chapel with women and girls sitting on one side and men and boys on the other as his casket was wheeled down the center at the beginning of the service.


Almost every speaker had to pause to wipe away tears or to gather himself. Many in the audience also sobbed – still stunned, shocked and in disbelief since hearing the tragic news only about 12 hours earlier.

Dessler said Klein wanted to make this world a better place to live.

"Mendy, we in this room cannot possibly fathom the incredible merits which accompany you as you enter the eternal world. All we can say is 'thank you'."

Dessler pointed out how special the academy was in Klein's life.

“His gratitude to the school which educated his children and grandchildren was boundless," Dessler said. "He came when his grandchildren learned the Hebrew letter 'zayin' because he was their Zeidy. He was here for siddur parties and Chumash parties. He appeared just to give his grandchildren hugs and he was so, so proud of each of his children and grandchildren.”

Klein, who was born Oct. 16, 1952, was a taxi driver in New York City before moving to Cleveland some 40 years ago and immediately immersed himself in the Jewish community.


Klein was chairman of Safeguard Properties, a turnkey resource for multiple aspects of default property preservation, a company he started in 1990 and turned over the leadership role in 2010 to his son-in-law, Amir Jaffa. He was also founder and chairman of SecureView, a supplier of clearboarding polycarbonate material, and chairman of RIK Enterprises.

Rabbi Yitz Frank, Ohio director of Agudath Israel of America, told the CJN he talked to Klein May 2 and was on a plane May 3 when he heard the news.

"It's surreal," he said. "He gave money everywhere. I mean, the former Soviet Union, Israel, other places, Cleveland, other areas of the United States, Jewish causes, not Jewish causes. He didn't care. What made him so special is he was obviously an enormously wealthy person, huge philanthropist, on a gigantic scale, but he was a regular guy, just a regular guy, but such a giant in philanthropy. You don't see people of that scale and level. He was doing gigantic things on a daily basis."

For his contributions to Agudath Israel of America and the world, the organization already had planned to honor him at a leadership event May 29 in New York City.

Frank, who described Klein as a father figure to him, said he enjoyed many meetings at Klein's house when "a stream of needy people who would knock on his door and he would give. Over an hour, 10 to 15 people, ringing the doorbell, and they flew in from out of state and they had some need. He did not know how to say no. ... He was an incredibly bright person, became industrious and a total workaholic. He made his wealth relative later in life, probably in his 40s, but he never really forgot where he came from. ... He didn't like attention. He did not seek attention"

Klein was a pillar, especially in the Orthodox community.


"Just thinking from Cleveland, pick an organization, he gave," Frank said. "He was a huge donor to the Federation (Jewish Federation of Cleveland), Hebrew Academy, Yeshiva Derech HaTorah, Fuchs Mizrachi."

"Personally, I thought it was like I was kicked in the stomach and am deeply saddened," he told the CJN from Jerusalem about his reaction upon learning of the news. "Mendy was one of a kind, big heart, caring, compassionate, generous, an example of what we call a mensch Jew.

"He believed deeply in K'lal Yisrael. He believed we were here to help the less fortunate and more vulnerable and educate any kid who wanted a Jewish education. He was the real deal, the full caring Jew. From the community point of view, the loss is overwhelming because Mendy was at the heart of helping do whatever we needed to do."

Hoffman said Klein never sought the spotlight.

"Mendy never wanted credit for what he was doing," Hoffman said. "You know the Maimonides ladder of giving and one of the higher rungs is you've helped someone and they don't know you are the one who's helping. Mendy was that type of guy. He didn't want people to know he was helping. He wanted to know people were taken care of. He didn't want any credit."


Albert Ratner, former co-chairman emeritus of Forest City Realty Trust, met Klein within the last 10 years and also recently partnered with him on a project to revitalize Slavic Village in Cleveland.

"My first thought was Mendy used every minute he had," Ratner told the CJN. "He really lived his life as if this was the last day of his life. ... There's a popular saying, 'People are all in.' Mendy was all in, but what differentiated him from everyone I knew – he was all in for everything.

"It's a phenomenal loss to this community. He was like a comet who shot up so bright and then disappeared, but he won't disappear because everywhere you go, you will see Mendy ..."

Education, mental health, abuse prevention, security and the state of Israel were among the causes Klein cherished. In 2015, his generosity helped save Mosdos Ohr HaTorah, an Orthodox day school in Cleveland Heights, when it had a debt of $14 million. The school was renamed Yeshiva Derech HaTorah.

"He was one of the pillars of the community who cared for every human being," Rabbi Eli Dessler, financial director of the Hebrew Academy, told the CJN. "He was behind every major project, privately and publicly, and he set the bar of charity on a tremendously high level and encouraged people by example to follow suit.

"He loved Jewish education. He was passionate about children of all backgrounds. He was passionate about Israel, and he was passionate with his involvement in the broad community and at the Federation."

Dr. Louis Malcmacher, president of the Hebrew Academy who knew Klein for more than 30 years, told the CJN, "First of all, in terms of what he meant to organizations and individual people, there are tens of thousands of people that are worried about their futures that weren't worried yesterday because he's not around. With that being said, he's raised his kids to follow in his footsteps in terms of the support, chesed, that has always been his mission. Most certainly, his family will carry on his tradition.

"He came here with nothing, but he was a full-fledged member of this community, and was involved in everything from the get-go. To Hebrew Academy, he was a confidant. He literally drove many of the programs Hebrew Academy never could have afforded on its own. His singular focus was the health, well-being and education of every single child in the Hebrew Academy and around the community, that includes spiritual, emotional and physical well-being."

Klein is survived by his wife, Ita; four children: Edna (Amir) Jaffa: Yoni (Shoshi) Klein; Dina (Shmully) Halpern; and Nati (Chany) Klein; grandchildren and great-grandchild.

Following the service, hundreds walked in a processional as the casket was wheeled from Yavne to South Green Road, then north to Timberlane Drive, where the casket was placed in a hearse as police stopped traffic. The procession headed east on Timberlane until it reached Klein's house, where it stopped for several minutes before heading to Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel in Cleveland Heights.

A funeral will take place at 9:45 a.m. (Israel time) May 7 at Yeshiva Kaminetz, 22 Yecheskal in Jerusalem. Burial will follow on Har HaMenuchot. The family will observe shiva following burial at 27 Ben Maimon in Rechavia.

Shiva will be held at the Klein residence, 23453 Timberlane Drive in Beachwood, beginning in the afternoon of May 8 through the morning of May 13.
article Cleveland Jewish News